New ID system to replace Social Security Numbers

Published: February 23, 2005

In response to student requests, and prompted by concern about identity theft in higher education, the University of Notre Dame will discontinue using student Social Security numbers (SSNs) as primary identifiers as of June of this year.p. SSNs will be replaced by a new identifier, calledndID,which will be viewable online by students beginning with registration for the summer 2005 session.

The University is timing this important change with the implementation of new administrative software,University Registrar Harold Pace said.The transition from SSNs to new ndIDs should be relatively painless.

Pace noted that, in most cases, the easy-to-remember NetIDs (used in conjunction with a secret password to log onto the Notre Dame network) could be used in lieu of ndIDs when prompted for a unique identifier by one of Notre Dames online services.

The ndIDs will appear on class rosters and other internal student lists produced by the Office of the Registrar during the summer and fall sessions of 2005.

Social Security numbers still will be collected as part of the admission and financial aid process, but will only be used to meet specific financial business needs and will no longer be used as a primary identifier or appear on printed lists within the University.

Current students can determine their ndID by viewing the number on the back of their ID card, above the bar code. This eight digit number starting with00is converted to the new ndID by adding a9as the first digit. As an example, if the number printed on the ID card is00123456,the new ndID is900123456.

New students entering the University after June, or any current student replacing his or her ID card after June,will have the new ndID printed on the ID card. The ndID will become active for University faculty and staff when the new administrative software for Human Resources becomes available in June 2006.